Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 2
प्राप्य वाराणसीं तूर्णमाशु स्यंदनगो विभुः । वाडवीं मूर्तिमालंब्य प्राविशच्छकुनैः स्तुतः
prāpya vārāṇasīṃ tūrṇamāśu syaṃdanago vibhuḥ | vāḍavīṃ mūrtimālaṃbya prāviśacchakunaiḥ stutaḥ
त्वरेने वाराणसीस पोहोचून तो विभू रथारूढ झाला; वाडवी (घोडी) रूप धारण करून, शुभ शकुन-पक्ष्यांनी स्तुत होत नगरात प्रविष्ट झाला।
Skanda (narration)
Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī/Avimukta)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical frame; not explicit here)
Scene: A powerful figure arrives at Kāśī in a chariot, then assumes a mare-form at the city’s edge; birds circle overhead as auspicious omens while the city’s ghāṭas and spires appear in the distance.
FAQs
The divine may move unseen to protect sacred order; auspicious signs accompany entry into Kāśī when dharma is being served.
Vārāṇasī/Kāśī, depicted as a city entered with auspicious portents.
None; the verse highlights arrival, disguise, and auspicious signs.